Fishing Reports for April 13

Washington

Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco)

Greetings from Vancouver Washington site of the annual PFMC meetings and the salmon season setting process. We will have season dates by mid day on Thursday. We are still looking at a strong possibility of zero salmon fishing in 2016 but, we are still working on the process. Things will be quite different this year than we have seen in years past and I believe any season we get will be significantly shorter than in years past as well.

On the fishing front in Westport, bottom fishing continues to be very productive with most trip ending with limits or something very close. There is no reason to think that this will change anytime soon.

Halibut opens in Westport on May 1st and will run Sunday and Tuesday for a few weeks or until the quota is met. This normally occurs by the 2nd Tuesday . The photo to left was on opening day 2015.

I foresee no Razor Clam digs in Twin Harbors for the rest of the spring.

Marine Area 6

Marine Area 7

Marine Area 8.1

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) reports “Good” prospects for cutthroat in Marine Area 8.1 during April.

Salmon University Staff

Marine Area 8.2

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) reports “Good” prospects for cutthroat, and “Poor” prospects for Coho in Marine Area 8.2 during April.

Salmon University Staff

Marine Area 9 (Admirality Inlet)

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) reports “Poor” prospects for Chinook and Coho in Marine Area 9 during April.

Marine Area 10

no report this week

Marine Area 11

The chinook salmon fishing has been decent the last few days, especially last Sunday. Fish have been caught at Dalco Point, Quarter Master Area, the Shelf area and the Clay Banks have been pretty good. Most of the salmon have been caught trolling flasher and spoon or artificial squid and mooching herring and jigging have produced salmon as well. The incoming tide has been the best.

Flounder and sole have been on the bite recently. For a more updated report call 253-591-5325.

Start collecting those Swap Meet items for the Point Defiance Marina Swap Meet on Saturday, May 21, 2016 from 10 am to 3 pm. Covered Space will be limited…A great way to clear up your lockers or garages with tackle and gear others may really need. No firearms, bullets, tobacco, or alcohol products. Contact Information: Gene Anderson genea@tacomaparks.com
(253) 591-5325 or genea@tacomaparks.com
• Register Now for a 10 X 10 Space
• Space is limited. Deadline to register May 19, 2016 . Registration form required and can be obtained at PDM Boathouse
• Cost: $15.00 PDM Locker Tenants receive $5 off
• No admission fee for shoppers
• Tables can be rented to sellers at $5 per table. Must reserve in advance at PDM Boathouse.

Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal)

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) reports “Poor” prospects for Coho in Marine Area 12 during April.

Marine Area 13

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) reports “Poor” prospects for Coho in Marine Area 13 during April.

Freshwater – Greenlake

I made it down to Greenlake on Monday for a couple hours of fishing. If you haven’t been there in the past week, the lake is looking more like Lake Chelan. The city treated it with a phosphorus killing treatment that supposedly safe on fish, wildlife, etc. This treatment lasts up to 10 years. The result is the lake is “gin clear” down about 15 feet. If this treatment doesn’t effect fish, predators like cormorants and eagles will have no problem picking them off.

Fishing was horrible until the last half hour. I put on a flat fish and dropped it down about 10 feet behind my Hobie kayak using lead core line. I figured fishing the deepest part of the lake would be where the fish would be hiding. Sue enough, I landed two nice “steelhead” (Chrome bright rainbow trout) which did a few aerial flips before landing in my net.

There are a ton of carp in the lake. You can’t miss them in the clear water. I’d tried my luck still fishing with corn but wind got the best of me and was moving me around on my kayak.

Freshwater – Lake Cle Elum

What a fine day on Lake Cle Elum! I’ve learned from past trips that this is a “none or one ” fish lake. Today I caught one. A nice Mackinaw Lake Trout whacked a Needlefish spoon I was trolling. He coughed up one kokanee salmon and when I got done filleting the fish I found another three in its belly. Find the kokanee and you may find a Mackinaw. Tribal fisheries have been gill netting lake trout for the past few years. Not sure what if any impact they have had on the fishery.

For you kokanee fisherman, I found several schools of kokanee in the lake. Anywhere from right up top in 20 feet of water, down to 100 feet. Cle Elum is a beautiful lake. Just be careful as the wind likes to kick up in the afternoon and it can get pretty hairy out there – especially on a kayak.

Freshwater – Potholes Reservoir

Linda with a walleye caught and released up in the Crab Creek channel about a mile below the power lines in 16 feet of water using a blue smiley blade in 64 degree water.

While the fishing on the Potholes is picking so is the trout fishing in the lakes below the dam. Windmill Lake remains very good for both bank and boat anglers. My neighbor has had very good results in trolling a wedding ring using only a small split shot out about 30 feet and finding fast limits of trout that still are good tasting. In the meantime some of the walk-in lakes are producing quality catches. One of the lakes we have heard of for a quality fishery is Virgin Lake; in the past it has been good for us.

The weekends and launches are filling up and most are fishing back in the dunes for largemouth bass or up the Crab Creek channel for Walleye. Both fish are drawn out of the main lake to spawn in waters in the mid 60’s. With the water height you can run safely anywhere back up in the dunes. It is another world back with birds, beaver and deer to be seen that as the water starts to lower are not accessible.

On April 11 Dave got his 60 pounder on a whole Salmon head, and shortly after Ricks 35 pound fish hit a Gibbs/Delta grub tail tipped with salmon belly.

Halibut fishing around Bamfield continues to be good. This fishery pretty much stays this way all year, with the only exceptions being bad weather days which make it difficult to fish. Anchoring is the key to consistent catches of larger Halibut in our area. Most any of the rock piles will hold big fish. The sandy bottoms also have Halibut, and they will be of a smaller average size. Large Halibut like to eat the Octopus, Lingcod and Rockfish that hang around the rock piles so it’s the place to be. Fishing a spreader bar and a bait of your choice will entice a bite sooner or later. Patience is the key.

Salmon fishing has been OK. Not on fire but some nice Chinook are showing up around the sound and on the outside.

I saw a 5 pound Coho this past weekend. Huge for this time of the year and hopefully an indicator of great things to come.

Salmon fishing was GOOD for anglers in the Bay. Most of the fish were running from 6 to 10 lbs in size and the largest was a 20.5 lb spring caught by Vern Story not too far from the marina. Anglers have been successful with all types of gear. Anchovies in glow teaser heads have been very effective. Spoons, such as the G-Force and Skinny G, in Cop Car, Bon Chovy or Irish Cream colours were also effective. For flashers, the Madi, Lemon Lime and Purple Onion have been good. Some halibut up to 50 lbs were also brought back to the marina. There were also quite a lot of halibut brought into Cheanuh Marina from Race Rocks and points east.

Salmon fishing was SLOW this past week and few people were fishing salmon in this area. The Flats have been holding some smaller size springs fish recently for those trolling close to the bottom. It’s been best in 100-140 depths. Good lures have been Green Splatterback Coho Killers, Skinny G spoons and APT Needlefish spoons.

Halibut fishing was FAIR this past weekend. Anglers that were fishing were using extra large herring, salmon bellies and/or octopus for bait. Berkley Gulp and Powerbait soft plastics also work very well. You can also use Mudraker, Lucky or other large Jigs if you want to stay away from the dogfish.

Salmon fishing was VERY GOOD near Sidney. There have been quite a good number of springs between 12-25 lbs being caught. The whole area east of the Inlet has produced nice fish. Springs have been caught by Sidney Spit, Sidney channel, Coal Island, Hamley Point, the Powder Wharf, Saanichton, Moresby Island and in Satellite channel. Many anglers are fishing using tiny strip or anchovies in Bloody Nose and UV Green teaser heads. Coho Killer, Gibbs Needle G and AP Tackle needlefish spoons have been working well.

The salmon fishing was GOOD for springs this past week. Anchovies have been the top bait recently, especially with Cop Car and Purple Haze teaser heads. The 3”-4” Kingfisher, Gypsy and G-Force spoons, as well as hoochies, are also top choices for Sooke anglers. Good colors have been Kitchen Sink, Irish Cream and No Bananas. Hoochies in White Glow, Army Truck and Tiger Prawn have been catching their fair number of fish. The most popular flashers recently have been ones with Moon Jelly patterns such as the Madi and the Lemon Lime.

Fishing for salmon was GOOD off Victoria but not too many anglers were out on the water. Constance Bank was good early in the week but the best fishing was closer in on the weekend. Anchovies were a good bait to use and Bloody Nose and Purple Haze have been the most popular colors for teaser heads. Spoons and squirts were successful in getting hook ups. Good choices in plastic baits are the Electric Chair, Purple Haze and White Glow. Coho Killers, AP Needlefish, G Force and Coyote spoons in Green Splatterback, Moon Glow and Cop Car colours have also been good. The Purple Onion, Lemon Lime and Madi have been effective lately.

Halibut fishing was FAIR this past weekend. The best areas have been Constance Bank, Border Bank and the Mud Hole. Anglers that were fishing were using extra large herring, salmon bellies and/or octopus for bait. Berkley Gulp and Powerbait soft plastics also work very well. You can also use Mudraker, Lucky or other large Jigs if you want to stay away from the dogfish.

The water level has been dropping steadily all week and the water level is 1.01 meters at the lake and 0.92 meters near Duncan today. There has been quite a lot of spawning activity going, both from both steelhead and rainbow trout. There are lots of steelhead in the river and most of the fish being caught now are kelts. For steelhead, good lures to fish are Spin ‘n Glo’s, Beads and yarn, Gooey Bobs and the always reliable Pink Worm. Spoons can also be a great lure in these conditions. We’ve also heard of fly anglers hooking up with steelhead too. Fly fishing at the top end of the river for trout and steelhead has been good.

The 10th Annual Elk Lake Take A Kid Fishing derby was held on April 9th and was a huge success. There were 253 adults and 82 juniors in the derby. All juniors received prize packages whether they caught a fish or not. The trout competition was very competitive with ties for first and second place and also for the next three prizes. The ties were broken by the first fish entered of that size. Winner of the trout competition was Greg Barkes with a 2 lb rainbow entered at 11 Am. Second place went to Mike Hardy with a 2 lb rainbow entered at 1:17 PM. Third place went to Cory MacDormand for a 1 lb 15 oz rainbow entered at 8:07 AM. Fourth place went to Connor Warford for a 1 lb 15 oz rainbow entered at 8:14 AM. Fifth place went to Roy McNeil for a 1 lb 15 oz rainbow entered at 8:36 AM.The bass competition was also very close. Ben Tholcke was the winner with a 5 lb 13 oz smallmouth bass. Second place went to Andy Grant with a 5 lb 11 oz smallmouth bass. Third place went to Jason Cevicklston with a 5 lb 9oz smallmouth bass. Fourth place went to Riley Smith with a 5 lb 7 oz smallmouth bass. Fifth place went to Mark Lister with a 4 lb 14 oz smallmouth bass.